{"id":61131,"date":"2012-06-11T07:45:57","date_gmt":"2012-06-11T11:45:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=61131"},"modified":"2014-06-09T14:11:43","modified_gmt":"2014-06-09T18:11:43","slug":"remarkable%e2%80%99-first-year-for-bioscience-connecticut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2012\/06\/remarkable%e2%80%99-first-year-for-bioscience-connecticut\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Remarkable\u2019 First Year for Bioscience Connecticut"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Tom<\/a>
Tom Callahan, vice president and strategy officer for Bioscience Connecticut. Click on the photo above to hear the audio interview.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

\"Gov.<\/a><\/p>\n

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy<\/h5>\n

\u201cBioscience Connecticut, the plan that laid the foundation for Jackson Laboratories to bring its genomic medicine operation to our state, has the strong potential to create thousands of well paying jobs in an industry that\u2019s poised to grow. By some estimates, the personalized medicine industry generates nearly $300 billion dollars every year. Thanks to the work we\u2019re doing at the UConn Health Center, Connecticut is well positioned to claim its share of this thriving business sector.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Susan<\/a><\/p>\n

UConn President Susan Herbst<\/h5>\n

\u201cBioscience Connecticut and the partnership with Jackson Labs are not only extraordinary new chapters in the life of this university, they represent new economic cornerstones in the life of this state. This initiative will help rejuvenate and expand Connecticut\u2019s workforce and add new vitality to our state for decades to come. And it would not have happened without the visionary leadership provided by Governor Malloy and many others in state government, for which we are so grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Ellen<\/a><\/h4>\n
Ellen Leone, associate vice president, clinical operations, and chief nursing officer<\/h5>\n

\u201cInvolving the clinical staff in the design of the new hospital clinical space has been especially rewarding. It has been such a value-added experience to have those with first-hand knowledge of patient and clinical care needs intimately involved in the design of new hospital clinical space. Clinical staff don\u2019t often have the opportunity to participate in such an exciting endeavor. A once in a lifetime experience for many!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Phil Austin, retired UConn President, also served as interim president and later as interim vice president for health affairs<\/h5>\n

\u201cThe Health Center has long been an institution that excels in educating our medical, dental and graduate students, but the commitment by the state, under the leadership and vision of Governor Malloy, will allow us to recruit an even higher level of faculty and students, and further enhance our education, research and patient care missions. All who care about UConn, specifically the Health Center, should be very happy and grateful and should look to the future with great optimism and hope.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In less than a year, the UConn Health Center went from having an uncertain future to being on the verge of a series of major expansion projects designed to elevate the institution as well as the state\u2019s economy and the future of health care.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a new day for the UConn Health Center, our region and beyond,\u201d Dr. Frank M. Torti, the Health Center\u2019s executive vice president for health affairs and dean of the UConn School of Medicine, said before the official groundbreaking for Bioscience Connecticut<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here is a look back at the first year of the project.<\/p>\n

May 2011<\/h2>\n

Four months after taking office, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy stands in the Health Center\u2019s academic lobby and introduces his Bioscience Connecticut initiative<\/a>, which he touts as a job creator that would transform Connecticut into a world leader in bioscience research.<\/p>\n

\u201cPrior to that, we were at a place where the future was uncertain,\u201d says Tom Callahan, vice president and strategy officer for Bioscience Connecticut<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s a remarkable change in fortunes for the Health Center.\u201d<\/p>\n

June 2011<\/h2>\n

The Bioscience Connecticut bill wins final legislative approval<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe legislation provided a clear pathway forward that wasn\u2019t contingent on anything further than executing the plan,\u201d Callahan says.<\/p>\n

July, August 2011<\/h2>\n

With the Bioscience Connecticut bill now signed into law, it\u2019s time to ramp up the planning and design work<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started over the course of the summer to pull together the construction team,\u201d Callahan says. \u201cWe had to push forward on the hospital design for the new tower and get that completed. It\u2019s through design development now and the construction drawing process is under way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meantime, two other developments are taking shape over the summer.<\/p>\n